The top diplomats of the United States and Britain are urging both sides in Sri Lanka's civil war to stop firing temporarilyat each other and allow civilians and wounded to leave war zones.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Foreign Secretary David Miliband also said Tuesday after a meeting in Washington that they want a political solution to the conflict that has killed more than 70,000 people since the Tamil Tiger rebels began fighting for a separate homeland.

The diplomats said in a statement that "the time to resume political discussions is now."

In recent months, government troops have routed the rebels from much of the de facto state they controlled.

The Associated Press, February 3, 2009